This
issue:- Salsa Night at the BCCA reopened this Saturday, and a great time was
had!- More Salsa at the BCCA: Workshop with Ana T. this Sat. plus
Fridays!- LA Salsa Congress Info (also, see info about Salsa/Hustle in April
in Miami, see mailbag)- Salsaboston Events (BCCA, Sophia's with Casino
Rueda)- Sponsor News- This Week's Mailbag

Well, we've done
it! Last Saturday was the reopening of the BCCA Noche de la Salsa on
Saturdays, and despite sub-zero temperatures, about 110 people where there
taking part in a truly great vibe, all the way until 2am! People of all
ages and levels were there, and I have to say it seemed like the start of a
really good thing.

*** If you were there, please write a club
review!
www.salsaboston.com/club_script

If you
haven't heard, it's a whole new concept and it will feature all of BCCA's
fabulous instructors dancing there each week and giving the lessons. In
other words, you can expect to see JAM'NASTICS, Hacha Y Machete, Salsa Y Control
(with Johnny and Kelly), and SALSAlort there on a regular basis with many of
their students and dance company members. Lessons are month by month, so you can
develop a sense of continuity with each instructor.

A: Well, we have been listening to the feedback from many people
for the last 8 months since the BCCA opened, and observed what people want and
like, and we came up with this format to put together Boston's ONLY Saturday
Salsa Night, and not only that, in a spacious facility with Boston's best dance
floors and without all the nightclub hassle. This is truly an event "by
Salseros for Salseros".

Q: Will there be people there?

A:
Absolutely! This night is being put together by four dance companies, two
DJ's, SalsaBoston, the BCCA, and many friends. We intend that this will be
the premier Salsa Night on a weekend in Boston with a full house every
week!

Q: Where can I find more info about the night, parking, lessons,
etc.?

A: Several places:- Scroll down to the Mailbag item 1 for more
reopening info- Check out www.salsaboston.com/bcca- Check out the BCCA
website www.bccaonline.com- Call Olaf at 617-513-9841 to make group
reservations and if you have specific questions.- Call BCCA
at 617-738-2800 for general information about BCCA, classes, workshops,
sponsorship and contributions, and studio rentals for private parties and
workshops.

Q: Is there alcohol?

A: No, not at present due to
licensing. However, we don't intend to let that detract from the party, as
past experience has shown! Furthermore that allows the night to be open to
all ages, particularly the college people who are left out in the dark by the
nightclubs. BCCA is in the process of seeking a liquor license so that
patrons may enjoy some drinks, but this is a long and involved process.
Juice, soda, and water are available, as well as some snacks. If there is
demand, we will be looking into light food service like pizza slices and
empanadas, etc.

*******************More Salsa at
BCCA!*******************

In addition to Saturday nights, check out
what else is going on Salsa-wise at the BCCA:

Some people have been asking about
the LA Congress at the end of May, which has been well attended by Boston
Salseros in the past few years. Ticket prices go up again at the end of
January. Through Jan.31, event passes are only $300, and rooms are
$95. Evening only passes are also available. General info: http://alberttorresevents.com/congress/2004/
Registration form:

************************** Salsa
Night at the BCCA Every
Saturday!**************************

BCCA's Salsa Night is now open
with a modest crowd but very fun!

14 Green Street, right in the heart of
Coolidge Corner.Lessons at 9:30pmDancing until 2am$10/$12 with
lessonsPlenty of street parking1 block from Green LineAll
agesMore info and directions: http://salsaboston.com/bcca

If you
haven't heard about it already, there's a new dance space intown:
Brookline Community Center for the Arts (BCCA) Opening April,
2003 in Coolidge Corner, BrooklineThe BCCA website is being
updated daily. Please log in to www.bccaonline.com and add yourself to the
mail/email list to get all the latest info.

The BCCA is interviewing instructors (dance, yoga, martial arts,
dancefitness) If you're interested in a new place to instruct, or better
hours or locations for your existing classes, contact the center at
bcca@salsaboston.com

Salsa Night at Sophia's new
includes a Casino Rueda class from 7:45 to 9:00, as part of the night.
We're doing this because Casino Rueda is a blast and we don't see much of it
around here. In other words, we want to get it going in this area! The
lessons will be taught by members of JAM'NASTICS. There will be an
introductory lesson concurrent with an ongoing intermediate level class. If
you've never done Casino Rueda but know basic Salsa, take the introductory class
once or twice and graduate up to the intermediate level. If you've never
danced Salsa at all, Johnny and Kelly's regular Salsa class will of course still
be happening as usual from 9:00-10:00. $12 covers you for the whole night
($10 after 10:00). If you're an expert and don't plan to take Johnny and
Kelly's class, you will have an hour inbetween to practice, have a drink, or get
a bite to eat downstairs.

If you've never heard of Casino Rueda, it's an
"exhilarating" dance that comes from Cuba via Miami, that can best be described
as "Salsa meets square dancing", or "sychronized Salsa". It's a group
Salsa dance, with partners in a circle, there's a caller and and a bunch of
moves that everyone knows. As the dance progresses, everyone does the same
moves together, often trading partners as part of it. The whole thing is a
blast! If you ever danced in Miami, it's extremely popular down
there.

More details will be posted in
www.salsaboston.com/sophias/rueda.html,with a video clip as
well.

*******************Sponsor
News:*******************

Sangria & Salsa is HOT - Red
Hot!Every Friday, salsa your way over to the best social party in town. Our
professional dance teacher Rix brings years of experience offering beginner and
advanced Salsa, Merengue and Bachata. The fun starts at 7:30pm and NO partner
necessary! Optional salsa lessons begin at 8:00pm (8-9 Beginner 9-10
Intermediate) Bring your friends, sip sangria and get ready to salsa all night
long. THIS EVENT IS GREAT FOR GROUPS, BACHELOR-ETTE PARTIES, SINGLES or COUPLES
ON A DATE.

Come celebrate the relaunch of Salsa Nights at the
BCCA with us! The new format of this night will include lessons each week
by some of Boston's finest instuctors, Boston's BEST dance floors, a casual
atmosphere in a nice facility, great sound, and none of the nightclub
hassle. Truly a Salsa night "By Salseros for Salseros."

You ask,
"Well, what's different about it?"

It's a whole new concept: We are
creating Boston's Premier Salsa Night!

Each dance company will be
teaching the evening lesson for one month intervals in succession, which will
allow a great deal of continuity for the students. In other words, you
will be able to take 4-week "session" of classes each month with a
different instructor, and really get to know them and their style of teaching
and dancing. It will also give you a great opportunity to sign up for
studio classes with each company.

But..., whether they are teaching or
not on any night, each dance company will generally BE THERE dancing throughout
the evening, bringing with them their dancers and students. We plan to
have a full house EVERY WEEK!

****************************************************************3)Thanks
again to everyone who made the re-opening of Mambo Mondays a success. The night
was well-attended and, as I had hoped, we can comfortably fit the crowd of 50-80
people that we normally get.

This week, we are going to try
something new on Friday and Monday- the lesson and the dance will both begin at
9pm. That will allow the early bird dancers to get their groove on. I’ll play
the music a little softer, and the two groups can use different halfs of the
dancefloor. Also, this Friday, Jamnastics’ Latin Program Director, Engels
Valenzuela, will be teaching the beginner lesson. For more information about
Jamnastics classes and programs, call Engels at 617.354.5780.

And this
weekend, definitely do not miss Salsa y Control’s workshop and dance company
auditions at the BCCA this Saturday from 3-5pm+. Johnny and Andres Giraldo are
amazing salsa artists, and the event should be great fun. For more
information, vist their website: http://www.salsaycontrol.com/auditions.htm
By the way, get ready because next weekend, Ana Tinajero’s workshop is coming!
http://www.masacoteentertainment.com
. Ana is also a truly amazing salsa artist, and she is recently back from an
extended trip to Japan. Finally, Olaf’s salsaboston.com is re-launching its
Saturday night salsa event at the BCCA! Check it out: http://www.salsaboston.com . What does
that all mean? Come to the BCCA this Friday night, bring your sleeping bag and
stay all Saturday as well! (Just kidding!)

Best
regards,

Jeff Robinson
617.312.5550

****************************************************************4)Hey
everybody! It's not too late to sign up for
the

COST:
$10/workshop, $25 for all three
workshops! with student ID:
$8/workshop, $20 for all three workshops!

No partner is necessary!
Participants will be split up into threelevels: Beginner, Advanced Beginner,
and Intermediate/Advanced. Note that these levels are designated in terms of
rueda rather than salsa. If you dance salsa but have never danced rueda, you
should start at the Beginner level.

Beginner: No experience necessary!
Teaches the basics of Salsa and Rueda, lead/follow
technique.

Intermediate/Advanced: Assumes the dancer is
comfortable with beginner and advanced beginner rueda moves and has a
good lead/follow technique. Students in this group should be
comfortable leading/following moves 'on the tap' such as Siete.
Teaches advanced moves.

Remember, workshops are formal instruction, so be
sure to bring comfortable clothes, your jazz sneakers/dancing shoes, your water
bottles, and plenty of energy to burn for 3 hours straight!

SPACE IS
LIMITED. PLEASE RSVP by sending an email to vfm@mit.edu with the following
information:

Name:Email:Which workshop(s):Estimated
Level:Leader or Follower**:

(** note that the leader is typically the
male and the follower is typically the female, particularly at the beginner
level. More advanced students may choose to learn either role if they
wish, as balancepermits.)

****************************************************************6)Here's
the 411 for February:**WEPA will be celebrating 6 years of great SALSA
Parties, and Aprilon2 willbe celebrating 7 years of teaching in
Cambridge/Boston this month! We will behaving an ANNIVERSARY JAM SUNDAY,
February 22nd to celebrate good dancing,good hearts, and good cake, of
course! :) SAVE the DATE!

** New LOCATION for SALSA SUNDAYS
TBA very soon!!!!!

February CLASSES START Feb 2nd and
3rd! The February Salsa session willfeature the following NEW
classes:

Mondays at 6pm: Spin Technique and Partner Styling for
Levels
2&3. Learn to spin like the pro's! Individual and partnering spindrills
guarunteed to improve your social dancing. Plus, learn how to
addeye-catching style and flava to your partner work!

Mondays &
Tuesdays, 6pm: Intro to Merengue, Bachata, and Cha-Cha (nightclubstyle).
This class is for All levels. You will master the basics of Latinsocial
dancing while improving your lead and following techniques. This classwill
especially focus on improving body movement and style.

Tuesdays, 6pm:
Salsa Choreography Class for Level 2 (performance class). Come challenge your
brain and body! You are not required to perform! Thesalsa choreography
learned in this class will be used for the Aprilon2 studentdance team which
will perform in 2004. The class is open to any level 2 studentwho is
interested in learning about performance technique and increasingconfidence
on the dance floor.

Contact April at 917-776-1325 for more info about the
new student amateurgroup.

**Class schedule for February below or
check www.AprilOn2.com for more info..

** February SALSA CLASSES**Learn Salsa with April and Ahmed, professional
dancers/instructors from NYC! The new Salsa session begins Monday, February 2nd,
and Tuesday, February 3rd.

Mondays:6pm Spin Technique and
Partner Styling for Levels 2&3.Learn to spin like the pro's! Individual
and partnering spin drillsguarunteed to improve your social dancing. Plus,
learn how to add eye-catching styleand creativity to your partner
work!

6pm Intro to Merengue, Bachata, and Cha-Cha (nightclub
style). This classis for All levels. You will master the basics of Latin
social dancing whileimproving your lead and following techniques. This
classwill especially focus on improving body movement and style.

7pm
AND 8pm Level I Salsa (Partnering and Footwork)Fundamentals of leading
and following, timing, connection, andbasic
turns.

7pm AND 8pm Level I Salsa
(Partnering and Footwork)Fundamentals of leading and following, timing,
connection, andbasic turns.

7-9pm MEGA SALSA
WORKSHOP!!!! Levels 2 & 3This 2
hour MEGA class will include open shines, partner work, SPINTECHNIQUE
andDRILLS, styling and creativity while partnering, as well as
fine-tunefundamental leading and following techniques that are essential to
NY Style dancing.Get rid of bad habits! Guaranteed to improve your dancing
at ANY level!!(followed by an hour of social dancing from
9-10pm!!!!!!!)

Come hear Sol y Canto
accompanied by an oustanding string quartet and bassoonist in a performance of
their critically acclaimed orchestral suite commissioned by FleetBoston
Celebrity Series, "Prisma de amores" - a surprising and powerful meditation on
the many facets of love. Orchestral colors, textures and effects are woven into
traditional styles such as Cuban son, bolero, danzón, Puerto Rican bomba ,
Argentine tango and canción de cuna, in a not-to-be-missed latin musical
extravaganza. Also featuring a selection of cherished popular boleros and tangos
arranged for Sol y Canto and strings by Brian Amador, including the beloved
"Sabor a mi", and "Quiereme mucho", among others.To read more about the suite,
visit this link in our website: http://www.solycanto.com/noticias.htm#fleet.SPECIAL
GUESTS: Laura Arpiainen (violin), Brenda Van der Merwe (violin),Claudia Campazzo
(viola),Reinmar Seidler (cello) ,Sally Merriman, (bassoon)

DISCOUNT for
Sol y Canto fans & friends:Buy two tickets and receive a 10 % discount
off the regular ticket priceBuy four tickets and receive a 20% discount off
the regular ticket priceBuy five or more tickets and receive a 30% discount
off the regular ticket price

All multiple discount tickets MUST be
purchased at the same time.Discounts will NOT be applied to more than one
transaction.

For tickets and information, hit REPLY and your message will
go directly to Jay Vultaggio, Center for the Arts Ticket Center
Manager.(j.vultaggio@neu.edu). If you need to speak to someone at Sol y Canto's
office for non-box office matters, please email: obyn@musicamador.com">mailto:robyn@musicamador.com.

Box
Office hours are Monday-Thursday, noon to 5 PM; Friday noon to 4 PM in the lobby
of Ell Hall located at 360 Huntington Avenue. Charge sales are also
available by phone by calling the ticket center at 617-373-2247. The theatre is
wheelchair accessible.

The Radisson
Deauville Resort was sold to a new group of hoteliers and the reservations
system will be changing after January 31st! The Radisson chain will no longer be
handling reservations for rooms, and from this point forward we ask you to
please call the toll free or local number directly to the hotel (now called the
Deauville Resort). We are at 80% of our room block as of Jan. 20th, and need for
you to be sure that you have a room! CALL RISK FREE NOW TO RESERVE YOUR ROOM AT
800-327-6656, 305-865-8511

Our web is up and we have
finalized our event schedule and our workshops with the best instructors in
hustle and salsa. Registration and competition forms are at: http://www.hustleandsalsa.com/event_forms.htm
You must have your competition entry forms submitted no later than March 22,
2004. No exceptions.

On Saturday night of IHSC you will be entertained by
the Dance Dimensions Show. Imagine if you could see a musical dance review on
Broadway, or see a multi-talented dance show in Vegas, but not have to travel to
these expensive cities, or pay outrageous ticket prices! You could be at the
IHSC Saturday Night Dance Dimensions Show, the most talked about and sought out
ticket in South Florida and any dance convention in the country!

The show
is produced by World Dance Champions Billy Fajardo and Katie Marlow and directed
and choreographed by Broadway Dance Star Arte Phillips. Reservations are a must,
and the sooner you get your registration package in, the better the seats you
will get. A limited number of dinner tickets will be sold. After the show enjoy
social dancing to Henry Knowles in the Napoleon ballroom playing the best salsa
and Latin dance music. Bobby Morales will be playing the best hustle ad disco
music in the Richelieu Ballroom and Marc Fisher and guest DJ–s will be playing a
mixed variety of swing dance music in the Lejardin Ballroom. Dancing will go on
until 4 am. At midnight the finals of the Van McCoy Hustle Contest will take
place in the Napoleon Ballroom with $5000 in cash and prizes.

We will also be producing our own videos and dvd’s of the IHSC this
year, edited by us personally, and shot by famed videotographer George Winchell.
Go to your registration package and sign up for your videos ahead of
time.

On a Local scene:

Want to learn how to dance hustle? Billy
and Katie have top-rated videos for persons wanting to learn the basics through
advanced techniques. Call Katie at 954-927-9010 or go to http://www.billyandkatie.com for
videos of hustle. Katie Marlow and Billy Fajardo teach hustle every Monday night
at Dancesation 56 N. Fed. Hwy. in Dania, with a beginner class at 7pm and
intermediate/advanced at 8pm. Also, on Wednesday nights, Henry Herrera
& Zumel, IHSC 2003 salsa champions, from the Salsa Racing Studios, teach at
8pm an all levels casino style salsa class at Dancesation.

On the
National scene:

In 2004, IHSC will be hosting the regional contests for
the Van McCoy World Hustle contest in 10 locations around the United States. For
Contest results, locations, and rules go to:http://www.hustleandsalsa.com/van_mcoy_open.htm
The finals of the Van McCoy Contest will be at IHSC on Saturday April
3rd.